On the following site, you will find a description of two Norwegian political parties, De Grønne and Høyre. There will be an overview of their environmental politics. These two parties are relevant because De Grønne focuses on creating a greener Norway, and Erna Solberg the current Prime Minister of Norway is from Høyre. Afterwards there will be an analysis on the National Budget, IEA's predictions on the future and last the final conclusion.

POLITICS

Environmental PolicyRetrived from: https://www.mdg.no/politikk/klima/​Cut down 60 percent on the norwegian gas outlet before 2030 and cut down all outlets from bigger cities. The changes should start in the Norwegian communes. Create a bounding climate law that holds the Government responsible for making sure that the cut down in gas outlets will happen.Withdraw the country pension found out of fossil fuel and invest in sustainable energy and climate action in devoting countries.

Environmental PolicyRetrived from: https://hoyre.no/politikk/temaer/energi-og-miljo/Norway has one the world's biggest export of oil and gas.​Høyre states that we have a responsibility in contributing to the world's energy needs. Norwegian oil and gas have been produced under the most strict environmental requirements in the world, and have a lower outlet of emissions pr. produced unit then any other place in the world. We will facilitate continued high activity in the Norwegian petroleum industry within the framework of the EU emissions trading system for greenhouse gas emissions.​

Article retrived from: http://www.aftenbladet.no/aenergi/--Vi-visste-at-oljen-kom-til-a-forsvinne-gradvis-534401b.htmlOn Wednesday November 23rd 2016 at the Zero Conference in Oslo, Erna Solberg tells about the future of oil in Norway. ,,We knew that the oil gradually disappears. It is not in oil, we will find growth, it is on multiple areas," she says. ,,In Norway the oil and gas will become a smaller part of the norwegian economy in the years to come. It will still be a vital part of the norwegian economy, but we are actively looking into greener color solutions. And then we have a particular focus on the transport sector. "

In her speech Solberg expressed that in the period from 2004 to 2014 a big part of the growth in Norwegian economy came from high oil prices. This made Norway to go out of balance with the rest of Europe and that they got a weakened competitiveness in other areas, she said.

The Offshore adventure is not done, but we are opening a new chapter. The Prime Minister said that a lot of people are very interested in what areas the focus will be put. ,,But we need to focus on multiple areas to create growth," she said. A lot of people think it is all about green energy, but what they forget is that it is also about creating value in the society. ,,If we have a red bottom line, we will never be able to create greener energy sources. The industry needs to secure profitable solutions and create values. Without this, there will be no income to the state and the Norwegian welfare will suffer." ​,,There is a lot to learn from the experiences in the oil industry," Solberg says. In the 1970's the politicians made an industry that created multiple jobs and the economic growth created technological development. ,,We must ensure that we have a technological long start also in the green transition. We need a diverse range of answers."

The graph above shows the development of money spent on research and development in different sectors. Looking at the renewable sector we see a slidly decrease, where as the costs in the petroleum activity are increasing. 'Other environmental research', 'Other climate research and technology' and 'Other environment-related energy' appear to be stable within the timeframe.

In the graph below, the petroleum activity and renewable energy are highlighted.

The graph's time frame ends in 2014, which means there might be another development present. The graph shows a priority that is significant in the petroleum industry's favor and the renewable energy has always been significantly lower.

NASJONALBUDSJETTET 2017THE NATIONAL BUDGET 2017

The National Budget is made every year to describe where the money will be focused on the following year. Below it's shown a cut out from the chapter regarding green energy. In the beginning of 2016 an agreement was signed in Paris to reduce pollution. This agreement has affected the priority in the budget.

The Paris agreement states that the outlet of gas into the atmosphere must be reduced 40-70 percent within the years 2010 to 2050.

Comparing with the gas outlet in 1990, Norway has agreed to reduce its outlet by 40 percent by the year of 2030.

As a part of reaching the goal in 2050, the Norwegian Government is enhancing the green taxes.

In the state budget 2017, Stortinget asks the Government to enhance suggestions on a green tax shift as a part of the follow up on the green tax commission A shift needs to contain an enhanced tax on outlet of CO2. This change is sort to be a part of an empowerment of the climate deal and will significantly enhance the reduction of climate outlet.

We see in the budget section on green energy, that Norway is planning to reduce their gas outlet with 40 percent. But it isn't stated exactly how. It is on the other hand stated that they will enhance the taxes on CO2 emission, as it becomes more expansive to let out gas.

Want to have a closer look? Download the full budget below (Norwegian version only).

IEA International Environmental Agency

The IEA is an organisation that works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 29 country members and beyond. The IEA has four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and worldwide engagement. They predict that the demand for oil will continue to increase in the next decades. Mostly because of a lack of other options. Retrived from: http://www.iea.org/about/

If three out of four cars are electric and every third barrel of oil will be cut off in 2040, then IEA will believe that the world can keep global warming below two degrees.​Retrived from: http://syslagronn.no/2016/11/16/syslagronn/fornybarenergi/varsler-dramatiske-oljekutt-hvis-paris-malet-holdes_175164/

In November 2016, IEA gathered to discuss the future energy use. Where will we get power from in the future. These are the changes they are working on:

The energy sector must be emission free before the end of the 2030's.

1,5billion, or 3/4, of all cars and light vehicles must be electrical in 2040.

Also buses and heavy transportation have to make a big transition to electrical power.

All industrial and residential buildings must be emission free in 2040.

The electricity production needs to be doubled from the present level, and 90 percent of it needs to come from renewable energy and nuclear power. The rest will come from power plants with cleaning.

80 percent of all power needs to come from low emission sources.

The energy use for cooling and heating of houses, must be reduced with a third.

We see clear winners for the next 25 years – natural gas but especially wind and solar – replacing the champion of the previous 25 years, coal. But there is no single story about the future of global energy. In practice, government policies will determine where we go from here.

- Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director

CONCLUSION

With this web documentary we wanted to give a clearer look into how Norway, being so dependent on oil money as an economic source, might handle a new world where emissions should go down and greener energy go up. Looking into the previous information described, we can conclude on a series of things:

Based on the recent agreement made in Paris, the Prime Minister's statement shows that Norway will put more effort into greener energy solutions and that they have total awareness of the necessity that lies on finding new sources.

The demand for oil is still very high. To decrease the use of oil and by then the emission, a solution that can take over the consuming of oil needs to be found. Whether the demand for oil is predicted to be decreasing or increasing, will depend on what source you look into.

The oil industry has played a huge role in shaping Norway as we know it today. It created a viable foundation for growth in the society. This economic foundation might be what leads Norway out of the dependency on oil. Money creates opportunities for research and development.

​The oil industry is a big part of the Norwegian economy and has a high level of priority. But looking at a very fresh the statement from Erna Solberg, we expect the development to move closer to renewable energy. ​This also is showned in the National Budget 2017 where the Government is adding green taxes and in Erik Haaland's statement, where he describes how Statoil is planning to rely on greener solutions.

The graph shows how the investments are estimated to be used in the oil sector in 2017. Here we see a small decreasing in the 'Extraction, pipeline, mining, manufacturing and electricity' and the same goes for 'Extraction and pipeline transport'. There will also be a decrease in the investment of 'Extraction of oil and natural gas'. This fits with the statements of Erna Solberg and Erik Haaland, where Norway will be looking into more sustainable solutions instead of putting more money into the oil extraction.

Looking into more specific suggestions from our sources we see that they all point towards renewable energy. With Norway having strong traditions in the field, Erik Means also points to the maritime sector as an important player in the future.

Truls Gulowsen believes that if Norway as a nation can distance it self from the oil industry, the general society mindset will start looking for new solutions elsewhere. He states that Norway should stop looking for new fields now, not shutting down the business, but stop developing it. Looking into previous graphs we see how much Norway uses renewable energy in their electricity sector, but not so much in the transportation sector. Considering the big amount of emission coming from this sector, it might be a place to take action when trying to reach the goals for 2030 and 2040. But according to Truls, the goals that Norway has set in the Paris agreement will not be reach since they are too drastic, and since 1990 no promises from the Government have been fulfilled within this topic. Norway has a big knowledge and possibilities on electric transportation. This could be the field where Norway should invest for a greener future.

Statoil representative Erik Haaland also claims that Statoil is starting to look towards greener solutions. As a business they want to remain strong on the market and one of the fast growing markets today is the renewable energy. It will take time to transfer from oil to sustainable solutions. Oil is not only used in transportation and power, but also in daily usage. To Statoil this is not a matter of choosing between gas, oil or renewable, but finding the combination that will benefit the world.

Finally looking into the political part of the case we find that also here, greener energy has a high priority. Looking at the latest statement from Erna Solberg, we find that greener energy is definitely something Norway wants to invest in, but not forgetting that in the end it has to profitable to the nation. When it comes down to it, all that matters is that Norway stays strong and vital, without harming.